Waterworks

Still functional more than 150 years after their construction, Hobart’s historic waterworks are an iconic testament to nineteenth century engineering and its response to a public health crisis affecting Hobart’s residents. Water supplied from this system of seventeen intakes on the flanks of Mt Wellington can be delivered to Hobart homes for 10% of the cost of extraction, treatment and pumping from the Derwent River.

Today, the dams, pipelines, viaducts and buildings within the scenic surrounds of the Waterworks Reserve remind us of the challenging and at times controversial struggle the early colony had in providing a source of clean drinking water. The No. 1 Receiving House, which originally screened water for debris before it passed into the reservoir, has been converted to a social history museum detailing Waterworks’ unique heritage.